Page 99 of Family Affair
Time slowed. The bright red color kept leaching out of him, dirtying the pristine floor, encroaching on the wooden crate upon which he was sitting. Clean. Soon, he would be clean.
But the inner whiteness, the fresh emptiness he was craving was slow to come.
Sweat exploded all over his skin. Frank opened his mouth, panting like a dog as his heart went into a fast erratic beat. Suddenly, he could no longer sit straight. He instinctively tried to brace himself against the crate with his injured hand, but the flexing of the muscle made the blood pour faster, making him so weak that he slid down onto the floor, into the pool of his own blood.
The white walls around him acquired a grayish tint, and the bright lights dimmed.
“Ready to go… “ a voice from afar…. “Frank, where are you?”
There were steps in the distance.
Frank shook his head. It was so heavy, he could barely keep it hanging. His ears were ringing. Ward. Yes, he was going home. He wanted to call out to Ward, but his tongue wouldn't obey.
“Frank?” There was silence, and then, “What on earth… Frank! My God, Frank!”
Ward dropped on his knees in front of him. Frank wanted to tell him to be mindful of the blood, there was so much of it, it would ruin his pants.
“Rick! Abe! Somebody, goddammit! Call the ambulance!”
Ward cursed. Funny, Ward cursed…
His arm was jerked up high above his head, and Ward was frantically applying pressure to stifle the blood flow.
“It’ll be alright, you’ll be alright. I’ve got you, son, just hang in there for me.” Ward was crying.
Frank blinked, slow. The room swam before his eyes. He heard someone else coming, saw how the dawning horror bleached his father’s face white. Abe came, and the door shut against the onlookers. And then he saw Cade, looking at him in a sort of helpless despair on his battered face.
“Why have you done it? Why?”
He didn't do anything. He only wanted some whiteness in his life.
He sighed, a slow, shallow breath, and looked down at the red mess on the floor. His blood.
His mind churned over and finally caught the spark.
And then it clicked.
“Fuck,” he said, but no one heard him.
